Road safety markers which are used for the purpose of diverting traffic around danger areas, defining vehicular lanes, or indicating the presence of temporary hazards such as roadwork or disabled vehicles, are well known. Typical of present marker devices are the lightweight translucent traffic cones which may contain electric illumination, warning lamps which burn a heavy fuel such as kerosene, and chemical flares which emit a highly visible flame. Chemical flares are more useful for temporary hazards, such as vehicular breakdowns, but have the disadvantage of being non-reusable and of having a very short life. These flares are also quite expensive, and leave a residue which must be cleaned up after usage. Fuel burning lamps are showing diminishing usage because of the expense of the fuel, the potential fire hazard associated with its use, and the necessity to frequently replenish the fuel supply. For most uses, traffic cones, either lighted or unlighted, have become increasingly prominent.
Most traffic cones are fabricated from brightly colored material, such as yellow, orange, or red, and are made from a pliable, resilient plastic which is resistant to accidental impact. Many of these devices are shaped like inverted cones, and are base-weighted to prevent accidental overturning in the event of a strong wind or accidental impact with a vehicle. Many examples of lighted traffic guideposts are found in the prior art. For example, Abrams, U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,428, describes an upright flexible post member which engages a flat hollow base adapted to hold water for weight stabilizing. The Abrams device optionally contains a light bulb imbedded in the post electrically connected to a battery in the base member. A very similar marker is shown in Hegesbach, U.S. Pat. No. 3,795,220, which discloses a cone marker supported on a base consisting of a bag which is filled with liquid ballast. The liquid-filled bag conforms to the contour of any surface on which the marker is placed, and is resistant to damage from being run over by a vehicle wheel. The Hengesbach device also provides for illumination through a small battery-operated electric bulb.
Two other battery-operated illuminated road safety markers are shown in Vara, U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,842, and Whitehead, U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,237. The Vara marker consists of an inverted cone having a stabilizing base with circumferentially oriented legs formed from flexible coil springs. The legs serve to return the marker to an upright position after the marker is tipped. FIG. 5 of the Vara disclosure shows a flashing light accessory carried within the cone. The Whitehead disclosure shows a series of illuminated road marking cones which are electrically connected to each other and to a large storage battery. A sawhorse-type road barricade having a photocell-actuated flasher is shown in Nunn, U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,959.
In modern usage, road markers must often be set in place and removed as rapidly as possible. For example, when rush hour traffic is rerouted, or when traffic is controlled in specific lanes around an athletic stadium, traffic controllers must place the markers as quickly as possible; the markers are frequently set into place by one or more workers standing on the back of a moving truck. Accordingly, it is desirable to minimize the number of activities which a worker must do to establish the unit in place. In addition, it is desirable to have the light bulbs in the cones burning only when necessary, thereby preserving and extending the life of the battery. While it is known to have flashlights and lamps which will extinguish automatically when placed on a support base, as for example those described in Floraday, U.S. Pat. No. 1,937,111, and in Ferris et al, U.S. Pat. No. 1,916,472, no disclosure of a self-actuating illuminated cone is known to applicant.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an illuminated traffic cone which automatically lights when the cone is placed in operating position, and shuts off when it is removed from the operating position. It is a further object of the invention to provide a traffic cone which illuminates when ambient lighting conditions decrease to a predetermined level. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the invention contained herein.